She covered herself in peanut butter in front of her students — and there’s a genius reason why

In a creative writing lesson, elementary teacher Kayleigh Sloan used a simple but effective method to help her first and second graders improve their writing.

She followed their step-by-step instructions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich exactly as they wrote.

This hands-on approach made it easy to show the students where their directions were unclear or missing important details.

“The students were mind-blown,” Kayleigh tells TODAY.com.

How a sandwich-making challenge transformed a creative writing lesson

Kayleigh posted a video of her creative writing lesson on TikTok, quickly gaining 58 million views.

She brought bread and jars of peanut butter and jelly for her 22 students in the lesson.

She then made a sandwich by following the written instructions step by step.

She told the class she would read their directions and follow them precisely to show how clear—or unclear—their writing was.

Kayleigh read one student’s instructions aloud, saying to get bread, peanut butter, and jelly.

As she gathered the items, she asked her class if she had made the sandwich correctly.

The students quickly said no.

Confused, Kayleigh explained that she followed the instructions exactly and thought the sandwich was complete.

However, a student pointed out that this wasn’t the proper way to make it.

Then, Kayleigh moved on to another student’s directions, saying, “Put the bread flat.”

She pressed down on the loaf with both hands and said it felt flat enough to meet that step.

Next, Kayleigh read the instructions on spreading jelly and jam on the bread.

She opened the jelly jar, used her bare hands to scoop some out, and spread it right onto the packaged bread, which made her students step back in surprise.

She said the jelly looked fine, then moved on to the next step—putting peanut butter on the other side.

After opening the peanut butter jar, she grabbed a handful and spread it on the bread, commenting that it was crunchy.

Following the student’s directions, Kayleigh flipped the loaf and spread peanut butter on the other side.

Holding up the loaf, Kayleigh asked her students if she had made the sandwich correctly and if it was ready to eat.

The class quickly responded with “Ewww!” and “No!”

One student insisted that wasn’t how you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Kayleigh, clearly confused, explained that she was following the instructions exactly as they were written.

She then moved on to the next set of directions.

Reading aloud, she said the instructions told her to get out the bread first. She pulled out a slice, then dropped some jelly onto the table, followed by a big scoop of peanut butter.

After finishing these steps, Kayleigh told her students the sandwich was ready, reminding them that she had followed their instructions.

Kayleigh then read from another student’s paper, which instructed her to “put on the jelly” first, followed by the peanut butter.

Acting puzzled, she asked if she really needed to “put it on,” before spreading the jelly and peanut butter up and down her bare arms.

One student quickly shouted that she was doing it wrong.

Kayleigh asked if she was finished after applying the spreads, but the class responded with a firm “No!”

She then laughed, “But you told me to put it on. Like a T-shirt?”

Teaching young writers the value of clarity

Kayleigh highlighted the importance of including precise details to end the creative writing lesson.

She asked her students if they noticed a plate or knife missing from their instructions, holding up both to show.

Kayleigh reminded them she had followed their directions exactly, showing how every step matters.

She then invited the class to suggest the right first step if they tried the activity again.

The students correctly listed the peanut butter and jelly sandwich steps.

Kayleigh’s TikTok video of the lesson received many comments, with viewers calling it a memorable experience that the students won’t forget.

One even imagined the kids explaining the lesson to their parents at home.

Kayleigh, a teacher with four years of experience, first learned about the peanut butter and jelly experiment on TikTok five years ago.

Since then, she has made it a fun yearly lesson in her classroom. The activity aims to teach students how to add details and write clearly.

Kayleigh emphasized how important words are, explaining that they can change meaning, so she followed the instructions exactly.

The creative writing lesson was full of laughs, with students finding it funny.

Known for her creative teaching, Kayleigh uses shaving cream on desks to help students practice spelling with their fingers, saying pen and paper can get boring.

After the activity, students rewrote their instructions, adding more detail and descriptive words.

Kayleigh hopes to be as memorable to her students as her own teachers were to her.

“Learning is supposed to be fun and messy,” she says.

Here’s Kayleigh on her viral creative writing lesson using a PB&J sandwich:

@kay_sloan MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE LESSON AS A TEACHER🥪🥜🪼 #informativewriting #descriptivewriting #writinglesson #teachertok #pbandj #teachersoftiktok #elementaryteacher #elementaryschool #firstgradeteacher #primaryschoolteacher #justteacherthings #teacherlife ♬ original sound – kay_sloan